


Bang Bang

by ashinan



Series: Sleep verse [8]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-18
Updated: 2012-01-18
Packaged: 2017-10-29 18:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/322614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashinan/pseuds/ashinan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony isn't quite sure how to handle the fact that he can no longer be reckless without consequence anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bang Bang

**Author's Note:**

> For [-lazarus](http://-lazarus.tumblr.com/) on tumblr! If impatient, the next chapter is up on my [tumblr](http://ashinan.tumblr.com/myfics)!

There’s light shining on Tony’s face and he groans, curling his arms around his head and shuffling until he finds his pillow. He realizes quite suddenly that he isn’t on the couch, is very naked, and that there is warmth along his back, a line of heat that is familiar but still misplaced. He blinks and turns his head, getting a face full of blonde hair in the process. He can’t stop the smile that curls his lips and snuggles closer to Steve, relishing in skin-on-skin contact.

The Avengers Alarm suddenly shrieks, and Steve is up and out of bed before Tony can get them untangled. He falls to the floor with a yelp, sheets bunched around his waist. Steve blinks down at him, arm already through the leather straps of his shield. Tony leans back on his elbows, appreciating the view of naked Steve holding his ridiculous shield, and Tony wonders if the other Avengers can deal with the issue, because he very much wants to get his mouth on the flat planes of Steve’s stomach, follow the trail of hair down to his cock and maybe talk Steve into some fun morning sex.

Tony’s mind takes a few seconds to reboot and he struggles to sit up, frowning at Steve’s shield. “Wait. Did you have your shield in my bed? When did that happen?”

Steve looks down at him, looks toward the door and says, “I don’t know if we have enough time to really discuss that. That is the alarm and whatnot, right? Jarvis, where exactly is the disturbance?”

Tony sighs, falls back on the floor and rearranges the blankets because he’s cold. It’s not like he’s embarrassed because of Steve’s ridiculous physique. He pokes at his sides, notes the extra flab of skin and not-muscle and stares hard at the ceiling. Nope. Not at all.

There’s a whir as Jarvis comes online. “Captain, some form of robot is tearing apart the lower part of the island, near the harbour. Many civilians have already been evacuated. Hawkeye and Bruce Banner are en route.”

“Suggestion,” Tony says, gesturing from the floor. “How about we allow Barton and Bruce to handle this and go back to bed, where there are sheets and warmth and, well, you, and we can settle that age old question of how good morning sex with Captain America is.”

A flush breaks out across Steve’s nose and Tony grins at him. Steve pokes at him with his foot. “Get up, Tony. We shouldn’t leave the others to handle it by themselves.”

“And I beg to differ.” Tony fights when Steve grabs his sheet. “No, no, no, this is mine, Rogers. Get your own.”

Steve eyes him, and Tony knows he’s looking at the way Tony is holding the sheet to his chest, bunched up to hide the arc reactor, and _knows_ from that stupid sixty two degree furrow that they’ll be talking about this later. Tony scrambles to his feet. “Well, fine, let’s do this then.” And walks into the bathroom, trailing the sheet behind him like a wedding dress.

The robot is, in fact, of unknown origins and Tony gets thrown at _Thor_ this time, which is just embarrassing because last time that happened, Tony was able to correct for the interference and dodge Thor with a well-placed repulsor blast. The robot has some type of EMP amplifier that keeps frying his repulsors, shutting them down for seconds at a time, and Tony doesn’t even have a moment to warn Thor before they’re both crashing through the side of a building, debris falling down around them.

Thor gently moves him off, and Tony groans at the angry pull in his lower back. For fuck’s sake, he is _not_ going to be laid up for weeks at a time again because of his goddamn back. If he has to create a system of nanobots that will cure him of his age, he will. He swears it.

Cursing, he stumbles to his feet, catches the energy output displayed on the HUD, counters the figures with his own, throws in a few variables and decides to risk an out and out blast from the new tech in his chest. He shakes free of the rubble just as Thor smashes another hole in the wall to fly back to the battle and Tony can admit it, here, in the quiet of his suit, that he’s a little jealous. He lets the numbers fly across the HUD and across his eyes, tweaks a few random outliers, and launches himself back into the fray.

He hovers just above the robot, keeping beyond its reach with the EMP tech, and pinpoints each of the other Avengers. Hawkeye is balanced precariously on some random flag pole, shooting arrows over and over, but they do little but falter the robot. Hulk is beating the robot’s right leg, dents appearing and repairing faster than he can keep up. Steve and Black Widow are running around below, and Tony recalibrates the output of the repulsor beam and turns on the communicator.

“Avengers! Clear out! Wiping this nuisance from the face of our earth in ten, nine –”

He sees Steve grab Natasha around the wrist and they both take cover. Clint scrambles back and hunkers down behind the building’s retaining wall and the Hulk soon joins him, grumbling anger in Tony’s ear. Thor is balanced up high, somewhere, watching the proceedings with his hammer at a ready. The HUD blinks green at him and he carefully, _carefully_ , so as not to alert Jarvis, alters one of the parameters and lets the energy fly.

The beam is concentrated energy, dangerous and heady in that way Tony can only calibrate without killing someone. It slices through the robot without a sound, slamming into the ground behind it and melting the concrete. Tony grits his teeth, shuts off the HUD beeping dangerously at him and lets his own mind do the talking. He has nineteen seconds left of energy, thirty two percent of that straight from the arc reactor. He has another vibranium chip locked in the side compartment of his suit, which he’ll have to use in about thirteen seconds now, and the beam is tapering off. The robot falters, shudders, and explodes with enough force to take out Tony’s already weakened system.

Repulsors go offline, the HUD flickers off and dies, and Tony is trapped in a metal suit that won’t move. Gravity takes hold and Tony falls, fighting with the display and calling for Jarvis but everything is dead and silent and he was too high up, too far, he won’t be able to handle the impact without _serious_ injury and he closes his eyes, wipes away the formulas that calls for spinal injury and brain hemorrhaging and instead lets himself truly fear for his life.

 He bites back the scream because _no_ , he wasn’t going to die _screaming_ , but the terror is clawing at him and he blindly searches for a way to backdoor his own _system_ , but with too much discrepancy in the code, and the fact that Tony stupidly overrode his own safety procedures, the ground seems to be his only option. He thinks frantically that Thor might catch him, but if the blast was enough to knock his systems offline, it was enough to catch and momentarily stall a Norse God. Which means Tony is freefalling without a parachute.

He allows himself to panic then.

The ground is coming toward him ridiculously fast and Tony throws up his arms. Someone is screaming his name, and suddenly the HUD flickers with life. Tony grabs onto it with both hands, struggles momentarily with the repulsors, and barely skims the ground when he launches him back into the sky. He hovers, momentarily, entire body shaking with adrenaline, and lowers himself to the ground.

He stumbles when his feet hit solid earth, and he laughs, can’t stop laughing, tears streaming down his face as he completely loses it. The numbers slam into his mind, calling for his attention, and he allows himself to be dragged in momentarily before he realizes someone is holding onto him, that _Steve_ is holding onto him, and Tony is clutching back.

“Jesus, Tony, are you okay? What happened?” Steve breathes, and Tony untangles them, flipping up the faceplate. The entire street is blown to pieces, liquid concrete just settling back into place. Natasha is standing just behind Steve, her face a mixture of worry and relief, and Tony can’t deal with that right now.

His chest gives an angry pang and Tony rubs at it, wonders how discreetly he can swipe out the burnt out chip for the one in his side compartment, and realizes it won’t be subtle enough. He chokes back the pain and grins at Steve.

“Robot packed an extra punch. Wasn’t expecting it to blow like it did, forgot that _simple_ variable, and my systems went offline.” Tony rubs a gauntleted hand over his face, winces at that and drops both hands. “I couldn’t bring it back online, couldn’t find a way to backdoor my own system, which is strange because I’m _good_ at hacking systems, but apparently not my own, and I didn’t account for the fact that with my weakened state after using the chest beam, I wouldn’t be able to handle the concussive force. Mistake on my part, but it’s fixed now.”

Steve is staring at him, eyes wild behind his cowl, but before he can open his mouth, Thor lands behind Tony and claps him on the back.

“An amazing feat indeed, man of iron!” Thor gestures at the slowly deteriorating pieces of the robot. “I feared that you were to be harmed after that collision with the building. I am most glad you are unharmed!”

“ _Unharmed_?” Steve says. His fingers twitch on his shield and Tony bites at his tongue. “What did you even _do_ , Tony?”

“Uh, well, I’ve been working on this new weapon, thing, type construction, that takes the power of the arc reactor, the power of vibranium really, and concentrates it into a singular beam? It basically shakes apart the cellular structure of anything, reduces it to its most basic principle, and then the entire thing just falls apart?” Tony bites at his lip. Steve continues to look murderous, but he drags a hand over his eyes, breathing deep.

“All right, Widow, if you could grab Hawkeye and Hulk, we’ll clear out this mess. Iron Man, _don’t use that ray again_ , and help Thor clean up the remnants of the robot. I know you probably want to analyze it.” Steve grins, but it’s seventy three percent dimmer than his usual post battle smile and Tony doesn’t know what to do with that information. He stares helplessly as Steve turns on his heel and calls for Hawkeye.

“What did I do?” Tony asks.

Thor taps Mjölnir against Tony’s side, rattling him slightly. “The good Captain does not enjoy when you are in danger, man of iron. I agree most vehemently with him. Do not allow your brilliance to cloud your common sense.” Thor grins at him, easy, and then walks toward the robot.

“Are you serious?” Tony says, looking around. “For the love of –” He stalls in running after Thor, tugging off a gauntlet so he can grab the release for the vibranium core. It glows faintly in the settling dust and Tony carefully plies open his chest plate, reaching in and removing the old core with a flick of his thumb. His heart gives an annoyed throb and he bites his lip, fitting the new core in while the old one disintegrates before his eyes. He shoves the arc reactor back in, chokes on the taste of coconut and metal, and breathes in deep.

Thor calls for him and Tony shakes himself out of his stupor, tugging on his gauntlet and flipping down the faceplate. He bites at his tongue, mixing the flavour of blood with the metal and coconut, and runs to catch up with Thor.

 —

“I’m not saying it was a _bad thing_ , Tony, I’m just saying if you don’t have to use such tech, then don’t!” Steve says, throwing up his hands. Tony bites at the wrench between his teeth and raises an eyebrow at Steve. He’s elbows deep inside the Iron Man chest cavity, tweaking the burnt wires that came apart when he used the latest beam. Steve glares at him. “You aren’t listening to me.”

Tony contemplates spitting out the wrench to retort but decides on making complicated eyebrow gestures to get his point across. Steve huffs at him and carefully removes the wrench. Tony grins. “And I know it’s not a bad thing. I developed it, after all. It’s useful! Look! I’m even doing repairs so I can make it _more safe_ , and just think of all the battles we could end early if this works properly!”

“Are you saying,” Steve starts, fingers white knuckled around the wrench. “Are you saying you hadn’t tested the canon feature until this battle today?”

“Yes. Unless that is a bad thing, in which case, no?” Tony contemplates removing his hands from the Iron Man suit when Steve’s face turns murderous in three point six seconds. His judgement is well received when Steve lunges forward, practically picking Tony up and marching him up the stairs.

“What are we doing?” Tony asks.

“Your punishment for lying to me, for _endangering yourself like an idiot_ , is sleep.” Steve’s hands are light on his hips, but Tony can sense the violence shaking in them.

“Yes, well, there is a slight, tiny, miniscule thing that you’re forgetting. You can’t force me to sleep, Cap, and if I’m not sleeping then I want to be working and look, can we just forget I did something stupid today? I didn’t die, I didn’t sustain a large injury save a small tweak in my shoulder, and we killed the baddie of the day! I would say, overall, it’s been a good week.” Tony tries to catch Steve’s eye over his shoulder but Steve just presses his forehead to the back of Tony’s neck.

“I can think of three things that’ll knock you right out,” Steve says and Tony takes a few seconds to come up with possible solutions. Many of those results include Steve actually punching Tony in the face.

“I don’t know if I like those implications.”

Steve scraps his teeth along the back of Tony’s neck, fingers tightening fifty percent on Tony’s hips, and Tony’s breath catches in his throat. The final solution dings through and Tony grins, gripping Steve’s hands with his own. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“Tony, you nearly died today. You fell over a thousand feet, free fall, with nothing to catch you.” Steve breathes out harsh against Tony’s neck and Tony feels something small crack inside him. “You could’ve died and I wouldn’t have been able to feel your pulse beneath my hands, enjoy the fact that I _finally_ got you to understand two plus two, or hear you speak nonsense about everything because you can’t cope. _I almost lost you today_. Just. Indulge me this one time?”

Tony sucks in a breath and holds it, catching Steve’s hand and bringing it up to rest just beside the arc reactor. His pulse beats strong and sure under their joined hands and he feels Steve shift behind him, pressing close. He closes his eyes and tries to ignore the careful replay of today’s events, the numbers running silent in the background, throwing up mortality rates and force of acceleration equations. He breathes out and Steve breathes out with him. Tony feels a sudden peace flood over him.

Of course, he can’t allow the moment to pass in complete silence. “Does that mean you’re going to fuck me tonight?”

Steve snorts against his temple. “You are terrible, Tony.”

Tony grins. “Understatement.”

But Tony doesn’t forget it, even when Steve is driving into him, mouth pressed against Tony’s collarbone and hands leaving bruises against Tony’s hips. He files away the implications, files away the repercussions his death might now have, and wonders just how badly he has it for Steve that he’s now worrying about possibly upsetting him with his recklessness.

It’s something he’s not used to thinking about and he holds on that much tighter, arms wound around Steve’s neck. He’s not sure how to cope, how to deal with all this, and the numbers call to him, soft, and he smothers them by losing himself in something much scarier than dying.


End file.
